The last time Scottie Scheffler won the Travelers Championship, he did so in extra holes, defeating Tom Kim in a playoff in 2024.
On Monday, he’ll have a chance to do the same thanks to two massive par saves when darkness descended on TPC River Highlands on Sunday night.
Scheffler started the first day Viktor Hovlandbut both putts back and forth throughout the opening 12 holes. The pair had three one-stroke swings and two two-stroke swings in the opening five holes. By the time they reached the 12th hole, Scheffler led Hovland by two and looked set to pull away from the Norwegian.
Then came the rain. Both Scheffler and Hovland bogeyed the par-5 13th in the rain before the horn sounded due to lightning. After a nearly two-hour delay, Hovland came out and birdied 14 and 15 to tie Scheffler.
It was there on the par-4 15th that Scheffler made the first of two massive par-4 saves.
The world number 1’s shot landed on the left side in front of the green. Expecting the soggy greens to slow his chip, Scheffler tried to putt a little more on it to get it to the hole back right for an easy birdie. Instead, his chip went past the hole and left the back of the green. His chip return left him seven feet for par. With Hovland already for birdie, Scheffler had to make the putt to stay tied. He buried it.
“I thought with it coming out and being a little softer, the greens would slow down the touch,” Scheffler said of his chip on 15. “I thought I chipped it up pretty nicely, and it just seemed to go on. But I did a good job of staying in it. That’s part of golf. When the conditions change, the golf course changes the good job of doing the bad. up and down and keep myself in it.”
The two traded pars on 16 and 17 before reaching the closing hole. With the sun setting, the 72nd hole of the tournament would be the final hole on Sunday, whether or not a winner was crowned.
Hovland split the fairway and hit his approach to 24 feet. Scheffler’s tee shot found the rough left, but he got a good lie and was able to land on the back of the green. Scheffler’s birdie attempt was high all the way and ran eight feet past the cup. Hovland missed his birdie attempt but made par, leaving Scheffler with a good shot to determine whether there would be a sudden-death playoff on Monday or whether Hovland would be champion.
Scheffler observed the putt in the dark and poured it to his heart. As his ball found the bottom of the cup, Scheffler sliced ​​through the air with a massive fist pump to put an exclamation point on a chaotic day of golf in Cromwell, Connecticut.
“It’s nice to be able to hit those shots, to keep myself in the tournament,” Scheffler said after the round. “It’s more fun when you do them to win, but keeping yourself in it is good too. Like I said, I live another day until tomorrow and I’ll go out in the morning and see what I can do.”
Hovland said the weather delay allowed him to restart, something he felt he needed after Scheffler started to pull away from him on the back nine. Once play resumed, Hovland felt he had more control over his game.
“I played a lot of great golf this week, so I’m feeling really good,” Hovland said. “Obviously I would have liked to have done it in regulation, but to have another chance tomorrow to win, feeling really good about it. So try to get a good night’s sleep and be fresh.”
It just wasn’t enough to beat the world No.1. That will have to wait until Monday. Scheffler made sure of that.
